Amid Criticism, SEC Sets Standard For Penalties

Law360, New York (January 4, 2006, 12:00 AM EST) -- In an effort to diminish some of the controversy surrounding its procedure for assigning civil penalties, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has laid out a framework that the agency said it hopes will clarify its procedure.

The agency has often been criticized for failing to have a standard by which it determines damages in civil cases against publicly traded companies.

The new guidelines were made public following an SEC announcement that in two cases involving software companies accused of securities fraud, one company received a...